CNN Goes Live at Trump Rally, Never Expected Audience's Thundering Attack on 'Fake News'
For once, CNN couldn’t avoid reporting the truth – even if it didn’t want to.
At a raucous rally Tuesday in Tampa, Florida, CNN’s showboating White House correspondent Jim Acosta got up close and personal with the fans of President Donald Trump that his network has built a business model on disparaging.
It did not go well for Acosta, and it wasn’t what CNN would call a “branding moment.”
The nationally televised scene came when Acosta was feeding a report Tuesday afternoon to anchor Wolf Blitzer.
In the background at the Florida State Fairgrounds, the crowd of Trump supporters had no problems making their feelings about the network absolutely clear.
(And they’re feelings the president himself would no doubt agree with.)
Check out some Twitter videos of the scene:
@realDonaldTrump supporters protest against @CNN reporter @Acosta at @realDonaldTrump rally in Tampa, Florida. @TB_Times pic.twitter.com/mpArxHW9Q2
— Octavio Jones (@OctavioJones) July 31, 2018
This is what’s happening at the Trump rally in Tampa as @Acosta does a live shot. Folks booing, shouting “traitor,” and “you’re a liar.” pic.twitter.com/aUoUF4cwcB
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) July 31, 2018
Acosta, of course, who has practically made “arrogance” a part of his work routine, was undismayed by the reception.
“Wolf, just to give you a sense of what’s happening right now, you can hear there is a chorus of boos and other chants from this Trump crowd here in Tampa, Florida there, saying things like, ‘CNN sucks,’ ‘go home,’ and ‘fake news,’” he told Blitzer in a live broadcast. “Wolf, obviously all of those things are false.
“We’re staying right here, we’re going to do our job and report on this rally for all of our viewers tonight.”
Naturally, Acosta didn’t make any case for calling the audience jeers “false.” If he tried, he’d have to defend the quality of CNN’s news coverage (a tough row to hoe for anyone, especially when it comes to White House coverage), or try to make the case that the network is not consistently slanted against the Trump administration (an impossibility).
It’s worth noting here that there was a huge amount of pushback against the anti-CNN chants on social media – generally insulting Trump supporters with some implying they were either paid actors or the result of rural inbreeding. (Clearly, a lot of liberals were ready to defend CNN and Acosta.)
But Americans who know what a fraud CNN is were commenting too – and had few kind words for Acosta.
You have to earn respect. He hasn’t figured that out. Attention seeking behavior he doesn’t care if negative attention.
— Patty Basham (@PattyPmb37) July 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/DarleneInman/status/1024473160882761728
Guess he does not understand “ Not Welcome” why doesn’t CNN assign him to cover Submarine races?
— Paul Sanders (@Bluegrass75) August 1, 2018
Acosta and his CNN colleagues probably consider the crowd at the Tampa rally to be beneath the contempt.
Certainly, a lot of the liberals commenting on the incident on social media did.
But it was exactly crowds like that that delivered Trump the upset election victory in November 2016 that shocked the American political establishment.
It doesn’t look like CNN – or many, many liberals – have learned a whole lot from that experience.
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